Homemaking

Beautiful fall day around here. I'm lovin' the leaves. They are brilliant. I am also enjoying the time change. I know most people don't like it, but it gets us to bed earlier! And that is a good thing for people who tend to stay up late watching too much TV.

This week I've been working on organizing...I mean really organizing our house. We have lived in 3 different homes over the past 3 and 1/2 years we've been married. I have found that it takes almost a year to really get settled...to know what goes where.

One of the organizational undertakings I've been working on is what I call...from bag to basket.

I'll explain...

For years Captain Steve has been bringing home manly items...bullets, small tools, screws, bolts, keys, etc. Stuff that could be as important as the last screw that holds the space shuttle together or as meaningless as a gum wrapper. I don't know. I can't throw his stuff away. And everybody needs a "junk" drawer.


So what I've done in the past is collect all of these... what I like to call "man things" and put them in a grocery sack, more specifically a "man bag". Every couple of months I say..."I collected a man bag for you," and his routine is to go through it and throw away or find a proper place for his "man things." Well, I got tired of looking at his "man bag" sitting under his bedside table and it was so tempting to Stephen Small. We all know that CHILDREN ARE NOT TO PLAY WITH PLASTIC BAGS.

So I went to World Market and bought some square baskets for $8. I bought one for me too! I then transferred all the mysterious items from the bag to the basket. The baskets fit perfectly on the shelves of our bedside tables.

This was a very small yet life changing organizational maneuver. And I'm so happy with it. No more "man bags"!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bag to basket is not the only Suzy Q homemaker trick I have up my sleeve today. I also have the secret to making the perfect chocolate chip cookies....

Are you ready for it?

Butter temperature.

It is all about butter temperature. Cookies are best when the butter is properly allowed to reach room temperature. Not melted in the microwave. It requires patience, but is worth the wait.

Be back soon. Happy homemaking.